Crisis care bolstered through co-responder program

A successful mental health pilot program which prevented 200 people being transferred to the Townsville Hospital emergency department has today received ongoing funding.

The Mental Health Co-Responder model sees a mental health nurse partnered with a police officer to respond to incidents in the community where mental health concerns are believed to be a factor.

Member for Thuringowa and former paramedic Aaron Harper said the program was trialled between 1 January and 30 June 2019 with overwhelmingly positive results.

Of the 224 consumers that were seen during the trial, 13 needed to be transferred to the emergency department. Previously, a significantly higher number of these people would have come to hospital either in the back of an ambulance or police car.

“This is a brilliant program that provides care at the frontline rather than defaulting to transferring people in distress to our emergency department,” he said.

“The fact we can now offer immediate frontline support in the community is a huge win for Townsville.

“This is a brilliant example of a partnership between our hard-working frontline agencies and I commend the Townsville Hospital and Health Service for prioritising the $170,000 to continue to fund this program.”

Townsville Hospital and Health Service Board Chair Tony Mooney said the more mental health care could be done in the community the better.

“We know that people recover best in their own homes surrounded by their own support networks,” he said.

“Every one of the 224 people that the co-responders saw during this trial were individually followed up by a clinician from our Acute Care Team within 24 hours.

“This provides targeted, expert mental health support from a clinician to distressed people in our community without the stresses of presenting to hospital.

“The clinician can then create an immediate action plan to put the patient in touch with the most appropriate support provider which in many cases will be through specialist mental health providers in the community rather than through the ED.”

Townsville District Officer, Chief Superintendent Kevin Gutteridge said integration between emergency services was crucial.

“The Queensland Police Service in Townsville receive many calls for service where mental health issues are a factor.  For us to achieve the best outcome for community safety and vulnerable people with mental health issues, the integration between QPS, Queensland Health and the Queensland Ambulance Service is extremely important,” he said.

Co-responder Brigid Minogue said the program connected people in crisis to services sooner. 

“This program offers a personalised response to a very personal situation. It is very rewarding to be able to go into someone’s home at a time they are most vulnerable, and to sit down and have a chat and together come up with a plan that will be best for their needs,’’ she said. 

“In most instances, we find that people can access the services and treatment options they need without the need to go to an emergency department. That may mean a referral to the mental health service Acute Care Team for follow up care or contact with another community support service.’’

The co-responder model is a secondary response service meaning that they are never the first people to respond to a potentially violent or dangerous incident.

If you or someone you know needs access to a public mental health service call 1300 MH CALL (1300 64 2255) 24/7.

Contact: Public Affairs 4433 1016 | 0409 265 298